This easy chicken spaghetti dish is loaded with creamy, cheesy goodness! Savory shredded chicken, a creamy Velveeta cheese sauce, and zesty Rotel tomatoes with green chiles come together to make ultimately simple comfort food that everyone loves!
We’re talking classic southern casserole here. Potluck star, take it to a friend, freezer meal, serve it with a salad, weeknight easy. The pure definition of staple.
To put it into context, it’s southern cousin to the more formal, buttoned up chicken tetrazzini. What chicken spaghetti lacks in a tetrazzini style white wine cream sauce, mushrooms and peas, it makes up for with silky cheese and sour cream sauce and zesty tomatoes.
This chicken spaghetti recipe is also missing cream of mushroom soup and/or cream of chicken soup. While those can be found in the traditional old school recipes, we’re using a bit sour cream and chicken broth instead. It’s lighter, better and creates an all around more delicious, comforting dish.
Instead of having you bake it, we’re opting for a stove top version of Rotel Chicken Spaghetti because it gets dinner on the table faster. ….And it’s more saucy. Gotta love the sauce!
Growing up, my son called this dish “Cheesy Noodles” and would eat his tiny, little 6 year old weight in it. And as it turns out “Cheesy Noodles” wasn’t a bad name, considering all that warm, delicious cheese that wraps itself around each strand of spaghetti.
As my kids grew older, we added more chicken to make it more filling and kicked the spice level up a notch. It became a weeknight staple that put a pep in everyone’s step after long days at work and school, piano and soccer practices, and all the things. It was comfort food worth coming home to.
Later, it would be what I made when my son would come home from college. He always had a full list of friends to see, a hair cut to get and all manner of running around to do. But he carved out quite a bit of time for sitting at the family table with a plate piled high of “Cheesy Noodles.”
It’s what favorite dinners are all about. And I want you to have that kind of experience with your family too!
Tried the dish last night. IT WAS SO GOOD. It went into my favorite recipes box. Having leftovers tonight. YEAH!!
-Cynthia
What To Know Before Getting Started
I’ll walk through an overview of ingredients & steps in these next sections along with helpful tips!
diced tomatoes & green chiles (Rotel is a brand of this canned goodness.)
Velveeta cheese
sour cream
chicken broth
salt, black pepper, red pepper, garlic
parsley (optional)
Recipe Substitutions: If Velveeta isn’t your thing, American cheese has a similar creamy melt, if you buy a block and grate it. Freshly grated cheese always melts better than packaged.
You can also sub cream cheese for the sour cream. This recipe uses sour cream because it creates a lighter, creamier sauce.
You could add some diced or sliced mushrooms to your sauce when you add the tomatoes and chiles to give it more of a terazzini feel and amp up the heartiness.
How To Make Quick & Easy Rotel Chicken Spaghetti
Prep the chicken. In a large pot, bring generously salted water to a boil. Add chicken breasts. Let boil until done (about 10-15 minutes and chicken floats). Reserve ½ C of the chicken broth, drain the rest and let the chicken cool.
TIP: To make things go faster, I go ahead and prepare the pasta and cheese sauce while chicken is boiling and cooling.
Boil the pasta. Add spaghetti noodles to a large pot of salted boiling water and cook just until al dente (see the spaghetti’s packaging for specific times- usually7-8 minutes). Drain and rinse the pasta in a colander.
Make the sauce. To prepare the creamy sauce, pour undrained tomatoes & greens chiles into the pot used to boil the pasta over medium heat. Add the chicken broth. Cube the Velveeta cheese & add to tomatoes and broth. Stir until cheese melts. Do not let it scorch. When cheese is melted, add sour cream. Stirring constantly again. Add salt, peppers and garlic. Stir the seasonings in and remove from heat.
Assemble the dish. Shred cooled chicken and add to sauce. Return ½ of pasta to the pot and toss. Add rest of pasta and toss well again. This make is easier to toos and coat the pasta versus just throwing it all in at once.
Serve & enjoy! Serve in the pot or transfer to a large casserole dish to be served. Top with chopped parsley for a bit of color and freshness.
Pro Prep Tips
Velveeta. It’s not my usual pick as an ingredient, but it is hands down the KING of melt. And using it maintains the taste and texture of the traditional recipe. If you want to use American cheese or a sharp cheddar instead, you will need to make your cheese sauce like this Stovetop Mac and Cheese recipe.
Pasta. Rotel Chicken Spaghetti is at heart a pasta dish, so preparing your pasta just right will give it that delicious, crave-able texture and flavor.
Make sure the water it’s boiled in is generously saltedOR you can boil it in the broth/water from your chicken for max flavor.
When cooking, don’t go past al dente. Al dente literally means “to the tooth,” which means there is still a bit of firmness when it’s bitten. Al dente is the difference between a lovely, toothsome pasta and a mushy dish.
Rotisserie Chicken. If you want to make this dish even easier, use a rotisserie chicken instead of preparing your own boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
If you do, you’ll need to use the WHOLE chicken– white and dark meat.
OR you’ll need to purchase TWO chickens to make the recipe with just chicken breasts.
You’ll also need to purchase a can of chicken broth.
Half the Pasta. Tossing half the pasta in the sauce before adding the rest makes getting that sauce wrapped around all of the spaghetti so much easier.
Making Ahead, Storing and Freezing
To make this recipe ahead of time, prepare the pasta and place it in a zip top bag in the refrigerator a day or two beforehand. Prepare the sauce with the cooked chicken, place it in an airtight container in the fridge also.
When you’re ready to make the dish, pour the sauce into a large pot or dutch oven on the stove top and heat slowly over medium heat (careful not to scorch). When the sauce is hot, fold in half the pasta at a time. The sauce will heat up the pasta.
You can also put it all in your slow cooker and heat it on low until warmed.
This dish freezes and thaws nicely. Simply make, then assemble the whole dish in an airtight container. Freeze up to 2-3 months.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
In a large pot, bring generously salted water to a boil. Add chicken breasts. Let boil until done (about 10-15 minutes and chicken floats). Drain, reserving ½ C of the chicken broth, and let chicken cool.
While chicken is boiling and cooling, prepare pasta and cheese sauce.
Add pasta to a large pot of salted boiling water and cook just until al dente (about 6-7 minutes). Drain and rinse when finished. Set pot aside.
To prepare sauce, pour undrained tomatoes & greens chiles into a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add broth. Cube the Velveeta cheese & add to tomatoes and broth. Stir until cheese melts. Do not let scorch. When cheese is melted, add sour cream. Stirring constantly again. Add salt, peppers and garlic. Stir again. Remove from heat.
Shred cooled chicken and add to sauce. Return ½ of pasta to its pot. Pour sauce over pasta and toss in pot. Add rest of pasta and toss well again. Serve in pot or transfer to a large casserole dish to be served.
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Hi, Bee! You just made my day! I am so glad you loved this easy recipe. My kids reheat single servings of this dish in the microwave. However, if I am reheating a significant portion to serve again as a meal, I stir in some chicken broth, cover and reheat for 20-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Loved your Rotel spaghetti..very easy and delicious..thanks for sharing !
Thank you, Judith! I am so tickled that you loved it! This spaghetti is definitely a go-to when my family gets together.
Delicious!! Just made it and it is wonderful! Thank you!
Oh, Sylvia! I am so happy to hear that! It’s hard to resist this creamy, cheesy spaghetti!
Loved this! What’s the best way to reheat leftovers?
Hi, Bee! You just made my day! I am so glad you loved this easy recipe. My kids reheat single servings of this dish in the microwave. However, if I am reheating a significant portion to serve again as a meal, I stir in some chicken broth, cover and reheat for 20-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Is the garlic fresh, powered or what?
Hi, Patsy! It is a 1/2 tsp of minced garlic. I hope you love this easy, family recipe!
Try the dish last night, IT WAS SO GOOD, it went into my favorite recipes box, having leftovers tonight YEAH!!
Hi, Cynthia! Whoohoo! I am just tickled you loved this spaghetti. Thank you so much!
My entire family loves this dish so much!
Hi, Tiffany! Thank you so much! I love to hear that. Makes my day!
This recipe sounds good, but what can I substitute for the Velveeta? Is there a “regular” cheese that would work?
Hi, Guido! In the recipe section of the post, I recommend using freshly grated American cheese as an alternative. Let me know how it goes!